Australian travellers urged to delay trips

The Federal Government has advised Australians in Pakistan to leave because of the worsening political violence, and expressed "grave concern" over the danger of military conflict with India.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, yesterday ordered his department to call in the Pakistani and Indian high commissioners in Canberra to discuss fears about rising tensions between the two countries, both of which have nuclear capabilities.

A Foreign Affairs Department travel advisory issued yesterday says holiday and business travel plans should be deferred. It also says the more than 500 Australians living in Pakistan should consider leaving.

Australians who choose to remain "should exercise very high levels of personal security awareness and understand that foreigners may be the target of terrorist acts", it warns.

"Australians should not travel to the border areas between Pakistan and India due to continuing heightened tension and increased troop movements."");document.write("

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The department also said nationals living in Pakistan should vary their times of travel and routes between home and work.

In a statement issued yesterday, Mr Downer said he was "gravely concerned about the escalation in tension between India and Pakistan".

He said he had instructed his department to call in the high commissioners and "we have asked India and Pakistan to take all possible measures to reduce the tensions between them and to avoid hostilities".

Pakistan was asked to ensure that its territory could not be used to launch terrorist attacks against India.

"The rise in tension between India and Pakistan will require a commitment to dialogue and strong leadership from both governments to avoid the consequences for their own communities of hostilities between them," Mr Downer said.

As nuclear-capable states, India and Pakistan had a "great responsibility" to the region and the international community to resolve their differences peacefully.